If you take badgers out of the picture, what effect will this have on ecology?

[vole-woman]

This is a genuine question and I don't want to start another debate about whether the badger cull is right or wrong.

But there are people on this forum who are seriously knowledgeable about the way ecologies work, and even I know that if you take one piece out it has an effect overall. So I'm curious. Sometimes humans have tried to do something drastic to control a certain species and it's been disastrous with implications reaching far beyond what anyone would have guessed. Other times it seems to have been managed OK (I'm thinking mink removal in Scotland - but mink aren't a native species so it may not be a good example).

So what do you think will happen if this predator is removed from certain areas? Will there be explosions of certain other animals? I'm wondering whether it might help hedgehogs?

[mbaldw]

A couple of years ago, the suggestion was made that removal of badgers can lead to an increase in the number of foxes:

Badger culls 'boost fox numbers'

Given that badgers compete for many of the same resources (namely food and space) as foxes and some other mesocarnivores, increases in their populations as a result of reduced competition from badgers seems probable. It seems possible that some of their mammalian prey populations (e.g. lagomorphs) may also increase, although it is arguable how much influence any single predator has on lagomorphs and one might argue that if stoats, foxes et al. increase they may 'pick up the slack' left by badgers. The below report suggests potential changes to invertebrate populations too:

Potential ecological consequences of a badger removal operation (BRO) in the ‘Intensive Action Pilot Area’ (IAPA), South-west Wales (opens PDF)

Cheers,
Marc.

[Muggsy]

As someone that manages a farm I will watch this thread with interest.

Over the last 30 years I have tried to manage the land in a wildlife friendly way, while all the time placating the land owners with a return for their money.

30 years ago we had badger setts, just a few, half a dozen at most, we also had hedgehogs.
Probably tempting providence here and should touch wood, but in all the time that cattle have been kept on this farm we have never had a TB reactor.

Thing is now, badgers are taking over. They can dig a hole in the middle of a field over night, and they do. Massive holes that my cattle break legs in. The cows aren't daft, they mostly avoid the holes, but accidents do happen and I have lost 6 cows in the last 5 years due to injury.
I've fenced off the setts but they are not satisfied and as the population of badgers increase, so their need for more setts increase.
Why they cant stay in the 500 acre wood that adjoins the farm mystifies me.

Its only through this forum that I have learned that badgers predate hedgehogs and I wonder if that's the reason I haven't seen one for 25 years, not on the farm nor the local roads.

I've lost my train of thought now and have no idea where I was going with this post

[mbaldw]

Originally Posted by Muggsy

Its only through this forum that I have learned that badgers predate hedgehogs and I wonder if that's the reason I haven't seen one for 25 years, not on the farm nor the local roads.

Many people have the same concern as, not only do badgers predate hedgehogs, they also compete for many of the same food items (e.g. worms, beetles etc.). Badgers probably aren't the main reason for the apparent decline in hedgehogs, but I think it would be a mistake to assume they play no part. There is, incidentally, a bit more information about this subject on my website (in the QA section).

Cheers,
Marc.

[vole-woman]

Thanks for your replies.

[Sawsicksteve]

I posted this on another thread;

'Almost certainly a badger. By mid- July, there's not a single surviving ground nesting bumblebee colony or wasp nest on my land that hasn't suffered the depredations of Mr Brock. This also applies to the woodlands I work in.
Bumblebees often seem to be in the news, usually in connection with some story about their no.s dropping or certain species being at a critical level. At the risk of being shot down in flames by certain other board contributors, who seem to dismiss out of hand any personal observations as merely apocryphal, I can't help thinking that there may be a correlation between these two facts.
Certainly over the last 30 years, the number of badgers has increased dramatically.I can remember as a child finding bumblebee nests and watching their progress over the summer, watching next seasons queens mating and the cycle continuing over again. Now, many nests are wiped before the new queens have had a chance to emerge - especially during a dry spring such as this years. In fact, the only surviving ground nest I'm aware of at the moment is in one of my outbuildings that's secure from badgers.
I'm well aware of other factors that can affect bee numbers, but my land is farmed organically and certainly boasts a profusion of other invertebrates - butterfly numbers have been stunning this year, as have solitary bees and wasps. However, other than the nest mentioned above, I can only find one surviving bumble nest, and that's in an old bird box, and a tree wasp nest that's, err, in a tree.'

To add to Muggsys' post, I can relate to his point about hedgehogs, haven't seen one here for over 10 yrs, yet a couple of miles away in town they are still fairly common.

[mbaldw]

Very interesting observations, steve, thanks for sharing. I've found dug-out bumblebee nests in the New Forest a couple of times and confess to never having even considered a badger as the culprit, even though I'm familiar with their penchant for these insects.

Cheers,
Marc.

[Keith D]

Originally Posted by Muggsy

30 years ago we had badger setts, just a few, half a dozen at most, we also had hedgehogs.

this is the interesting bit for me

"we also HAD hedgehogs"

badgers are the only known natural preditor to the hedgehog in as much they
are the only ones who can uncurl and kill them for a meal we have in the UK

foxes have been seen to grab them but they dont eat them
problem is in grabbing them they have almost certainly broken one or more of there legs.since hedgehogs have been known to walk around 3 Kms per night
hunting for food,without a full set of legs this leaves them to die a long slow death from dehydration and stavation

in short got badgers then you will soon have no hedgehogs

K/

[vole-woman]

I think hedgehogs are facing all kinds of problems, most of them man-made, but I know badgers are superb at eating them.